Practical Demonkeeping Chapter 8-9

8 ROBERT Robert loaded the last of the laundry baskets full of dishes into the bed of the pickup. The sight of a truckload of clean dishes did not raise his spirits nearly as much as he thought it would. He was still depressed. He was still heartbroken. And he was still hung over. For a moment he thought that washing the dishes might have been a mistake. Having created a single bright spot, no matter how small, seemed to make the rest of his life look even more dismal by contrast. Maybe he should have just gone with the downward flow, like the pilot who pushes down the stick to pull out of an uncontrolled spin. Secretly, Robert believed that if things got so bad that he couldn't see his way out, something would come along and not only save him from disaster but improve his life overall. It was a skewed brand of faith that he had developed through years of watching television – where no problem was so great that it could not be surmounted by the last commercial break – and through two events in his own life. As a boy in Ohio he had taken his first summer job at the local county fair, picking up trash on the midways. The job had been great fun for the first two weeks. He and the other boys on the cleanup crew spent their days wandering the midways using long sticks, with nails extending from one end, to spear paper cups and hot dog wrappers as if they were hunting lions on the Serengeti. They were paid in cash at the end of each day. The next day they spent their pay on games of chance and repeated rides on the Zipper, which was the beginning of Robert's lifelong habit of exchanging money for dizziness and nausea. The day after the fair ended, Robert and the boys were told to report to the livestock area of the fairgrounds. They arrived before dawn, wondering what they would do now that the colorful carny trailers and rides were gone and the midways were as barren as airport runways. The man from the county met them outside the big exhibition barns with a dump truck, a pile of pitchforks, and some wheelbarrows. â€Å"Clean out those pens, boys. Load the manure on the truck,† he had said. Then he went away, leaving the boys unsupervised. Robert had loaded only three forkfuls when he and the boys ran out of the barn gasping for breath, the odor of ammonia burning in their noses and lungs. Again and again they tried to clean the stables only to be overcome by the stench. As they stood outside the barn, swearing and complaining, Robert noticed something sticking up out of the morning fog on the adjacent show ground. It looked like the head of a dragon. It was beginning to get light, and the boys could hear banging and clanging and strange animal noises coming from the show ground. They stared into the fog, trying to make out the shapes moving there, glad for the distraction from their miserable task. When the sun broke over the trees to the east of the fairgrounds, a scraggly man in blue work clothes walked out of the mist toward the barn. â€Å"Hey, you kids,† he shouted, and they all prepared to be admonished for standing around instead of working. â€Å"You want to work for the circus?† The boys dropped their pitchforks as if they were red-hot rods of steel and ran to the man. The dragon had been a camel. The strange noises were the trumpeting of elephants. Under the mist a crew of men were unrolling the big top of the Clyde Beatty Circus. Robert and the boys worked all morning beside the circus people, lacing together the bright-yellow canvas panels of the tent and fitting together giant sections of aluminum poles that would support the big top. It was hot, sweaty, heavy work, and it was wonderful and exciting. When the poles lay out across the canvas, cables were hitched to a team of elephants and the poles were hoisted skyward. Robert thought his heart would burst with excitement. The canvas was connected by cables to a winch. The boys watched in awe as the big top rose up the poles like a great yellow dream. It was only one day. But it was glorious, and Robert thought of it often – of the roustabouts who sipped from their hip flasks and called each other by the names of their home states or towns. â€Å"Kansas, bring that strut over here. New York, we need a sledge over here.† Robert thought of the thick-thighed women who walked the wire and flew on the trapeze. Their heavy makeup was grotesque up close but beautiful at a distance when they were flying through the air above the crowd. That day was an adventure and a dream. It was one of the finest in Robert's life. But what had impressed him was that it had come right when things seemed the most bleak, when everything had gone, literally, to shit. The next time Robert's life took a nosedive he was in Santa Barbara, and his salvation arrived in the form of a woman. He had come to California with everything he owned packed into a Volkswagen Beetle, determined to pursue a dream that he thought would begin at the California border with music by the Beach Boys and a long, white beach full of shapely blondes dying for the company of a young photographer from Ohio. What he found was alienation and poverty. Robert had chosen the prestigious photography school in Santa Barbara because it was reputed to be the best. As photographer for the high school yearbook he had gained a reputation as one of the best photographers in town, but in Santa Barbara he was just another teenager among hundreds of students who were, if anything, more skilled than he. He took a job in a grocery store, stocking shelves from midnight to eight in the morning. He had to work full-time to pay his exorbitant tuition and rent, and soon he fell behind in his assignments. After two months he had to leave school to avoid flunking out. He found himself in a strange town with no friends and barely enough money to survive. He started drinking beer every morning with the night crew in the parking lot. He drove home in a stupor and slept through the day until his next shift. With the added expense of alcohol, Robert had to hock his cameras to pay rent, and with them went his last hope for a future beyond stocking shelves. One morning after his shift the manager called him into the office. â€Å"Do you know anything about this?† The manager pointed to four jars of peanut butter that lay open on his desk. â€Å"These were returned by customers yesterday.† On the smooth surface of the peanut butter in each jar was etched, â€Å"Help, I'm trapped in Supermarket Hell!† Robert stocked the glass aisle. There was no denying it. He had written the messages one night during his shift after drinking several bottles of cough medicine he had stolen from the shelves. â€Å"Pick up your check on Friday,† the manager said. He shuffled away, broke, unemployed, two thousand miles from home, a failure at nineteen. As he left the store, one of the cashiers, a pretty redhead about his age, who was coming in to open the store, stopped him. â€Å"Your name is Robert, isn't it?† â€Å"Yes,† he said. â€Å"You're the photographer, aren't you?† â€Å"I was.† Robert was in no mood to chat. â€Å"Well, I hope you don't mind,† she said, â€Å"but I saw your portfolio sitting in the break room one morning and I looked at it. You're very good.† â€Å"I don't do it anymore.† â€Å"Oh, that's too bad. I have a friend who's getting married on Saturday, and she needs a photographer.† â€Å"Look,† Robert said, â€Å"I appreciate the thought, but I just got fired and I'm going home to get hammered. Besides, I hocked my cameras.† The girl smiled, she had incredible blue eyes. â€Å"You were wasting your talent here. How much would it cost to get your cameras out of hock?† Her name was Jennifer. She paid to get his cameras out of hock and showered him with praise and encouragement. Robert began to make money picking up weddings and Bar Mitzvahs, but it wasn't enough to make rent. There were too many good photographers competing in Santa Barbara. He moved into her tiny studio apartment. After a few months of living together they were married and they moved north to Pine Cove, where Robert would find less competition for photography jobs. Once again, Robert had sunk to a lifetime low, and once again Dame Fate had provided him with a miraculous rescue. The sharp edges of Robert's world were rounded by Jennifer's love and dedication. Life had been good, until now. Robert's world was dropping out from under him like a trapdoor and he found himself in a disoriented free-fall. Trying to control things by design would only delay his inevitable rescue. The sooner he hit bottom, he reasoned, the sooner his life would improve. Each time this had happened before, things had gotten a little worse only to get a little better. One day the good times had to keep on rolling, and all of life's horseshit would turn to circuses. Robert had faith that it would happen. But to rise from the ashes you had to crash and burn first. With that in mind, he took his last ten dollars and headed down the street to the Head of the Slug Saloon. 9 THE HEAD OF THE SLUG Mavis Sand, the owner of the Head of the Slug Saloon, had lived so long with the Specter of Death hanging over her shoulders that she had started to think of him as one might regard a comfortable old sweater. She had made her peace with Death a long time ago, and Death, in return, had agreed to whittle away at Mavis rather than take her all at once. In her seventy years, Death had taken her right lung, her gall bladder, her appendix, and the lenses of both eyes, complete with cataracts. Death had her aortic heart valve, and Mavis had in its place a steel and plastic gizmo that opened and closed like the automatic doors at the Thrifty Mart. Death had most of Mavis's hair, and Mavis had a polyester wig that irritated her scalp. She had also lost most of her hearing, all of her teeth, and her complete collection of Liberty dimes. (Although she suspected a ne'er-do-well nephew rather than Death in the disappearance of the dimes.) Thirty years ago she had lost her uterus, but that was at a time when doctors were yanking them so frequently that it seemed as if they were competing for a prize, so she didn't blame Death for that. With the loss of her uterus Mavis grew a mustache that she shaved every morning before leaving to open the saloon. At the Slug she ambled around behind the bar on a pair of stainless steel ball and sockets, as Death had taken her hips, but not before she had offered them up to a legion of cowboys and construction workers. Over the years Death had taken so much of Mavis that when her time finally came to pass into the next world, she felt it would be like slipping slowly into a steaming-hot bath. She was afraid of nothing. When Robert walked into the Head of the Slug, Mavis was perched on her stool behind the bar smoking a Taryton extra-long, lording over the saloon like the quintessential queen of the lipstick lizards. After each few drags on her cigarette she applied a thick paste of fire-engine-red lipstick, actually getting a large percentage of it where it was supposed to go. Each time she butted a Taryton she sprayed her abysmal cleavage and behind her ears with a shot of Midnight Seduction from an atomizer she kept by her ashtray. On occasion, when she had rendered herself wobbly by too many shots of Bushmill's, she would shoot perfume directly into one of her hearing aids, causing a short circuit and making the act of ordering drinks a screaming ordeal. To avoid the problem, someone had once given her a pair of earrings fashioned from cardboard air fresheners shaped like Christmas trees, guaranteed to give Mavis that new car smell. But Mavis insisted that it was Midnight Seduction or nothing, s o the earrings hung on the wall in a place of honor next to the plaque listing the winners of the annual Head of the Slug eight-ball tournament and chili cook-off, known locally as â€Å"The Slugfest.† Robert stood by the bar trying to get his eyes to adjust to the smoky darkness of the Slug. â€Å"What can I get for you, sweet cheeks?† Mavis asked, batting her false eyelashes behind pop-bottle-thick, rhinestone-rimmed glasses. They put Robert in mind of spiders trying to escape a jar. He fingered the ten-dollar bill in his pocket and climbed onto the bar stool. â€Å"A draft, please.† â€Å"Hair of the dog?† â€Å"Does it show?† Robert asked in earnest. â€Å"Not much. I was just going to ask you to close your eyes before you bled to death.† Mavis giggled like a coquettish gargoyle, then burst into a coughing fit. She drew a mug of beer and set it in front of Robert, taking his ten and replacing it with nine ones. Robert took a long pull from the beer as he turned on the stool and looked around the bar. Mavis kept the bar dimly lit except for the lights over the pool tables, and Robert's eyes were still adjusting to the darkness. It occurred to him that he had never seen the floor of the saloon, which stuck to his shoes when he walked. Except for the occasional crunch underfoot identifying a piece of popcorn or a peanut shell, the floor of The Slug was a murky mystery. Whatever was down there should be left alone to evolve, white and eyeless, in peace. He promised himself to make it to the door before he passed out. He squinted into the lights over the pool tables. There was a heated eight-ball match going on at the back table. A half dozen locals had gathered at the end of the bar to watch. Society called them the hard-core unemployed; Mavis called them the daytime regulars. On the table Slick McCall was playing a dark young man Robert did not recognize. The man seemed familiar, though, and for some reason, Robert found that he did not like him. â€Å"Who's the stranger?† Robert asked Mavis over his shoulder. Something about the young man's aquiline good looks repelled Robert, like biting down on tin foil with a filling. â€Å"New meat for Slick,† Mavis said. â€Å"Came in about fifteen minutes ago and wanted to play for money. Shoots a pretty lame stick, if you ask me. Slick is keeping his cue behind the bar until the money gets big enough.† Robert watched the wiry Slick McCall move around the table, stopping to drill a solid ball into the side pocket with a bar cue. Slick left himself without a following shot. He stood and ran his fingers over his greased-back brown hair. He said, â€Å"Shit. Snookered myself.† Slick was on the hustle. The phone rang and Mavis picked it up. â€Å"Den of iniquity. Den mother speaking. No, he ain't here. Just a minute.† She covered the mouthpiece and turned to Robert. â€Å"You seen The Breeze?† â€Å"Who's calling?† Into the phone, â€Å"Who's calling?† Mavis listened for a moment, then covered the mouthpiece again. â€Å"It's his landlord.† â€Å"He's out of town,† Robert said. â€Å"He'll be back soon.† Mavis conveyed the message and hung up. The phone rang again immediately. Mavis answered, â€Å"Garden of Eden. Snake speaking.† There was a pause. â€Å"What am I, his answering service?† Pause. â€Å"He's out of town; he'll be back soon. Why don't you guys take a social risk and call him at home?† Pause. â€Å"Yeah, he's here.† Mavis shot a glance at Robert. â€Å"You want to talk to him? Okay.† She hung up. â€Å"That for The Breeze?† Robert asked. Mavis lit a Taryton. â€Å"He got popular all of a sudden?† â€Å"Who was it?† â€Å"Didn't ask. Sounded Mexican. Asked about you.† â€Å"Shit,† Robert said. Mavis set him up with another draft. He turned to watch the game. The stranger had won. He was collecting five dollars from Slick. â€Å"Guess you showed me, pard,† Slick said. â€Å"You gonna give a chance to win my money back?† â€Å"Double or nothing,† the stranger said. â€Å"Fine. I'll rack 'em.† Slick pushed the quarters into the coin slot on the side of the pool table. The balls dropped into the gutter and Slick began racking them. Slick was wearing a red-and-blue polka-dotted polyester shirt with long, pointed collars that had been fashionable around the time that disco died – about the same time that Slick had stopped brushing his teeth, Robert guessed. Slick wore a perpetual brown and broken grin, a grin that was burned into the memories of countless tourists who had strayed into the Slug to be fleeced at the end of Slick's intrepid cue. The stranger reared back and broke. His stick made the sickly vibrato sound of a miscue. The cue ball rocketed down the table, barely grazing the rack, then bounced off two corner rails and made a beeline toward the corner pocket where the stranger stood. â€Å"Sorry, brother,† Slick said, chalking his cue and preparing to shoot the scratch. When it reached the corner pocket, the cue ball stopped dead on the lip. Almost as an afterthought, one of the solid balls moved out of the pack and fell into the opposite corner with a plop. â€Å"Damn,† Slick said. â€Å"That was some pretty fancy English. I thought you'd scratched for sure.† â€Å"Was that a solid?† the stranger asked. Mavis leaned over the bar and whispered to Robert. â€Å"Did you see that ball stop? It should have been a scratch.† â€Å"Maybe there's a piece of chalk on the table that stopped it,† Robert speculated. The stranger made two more balls in an unremarkable fashion, then called a straight-in shot on the three ball. When he shot, the cue ball curved off his stick, describing a C-shaped curve, and sunk the six ball in the opposite corner. â€Å"I said the three ball!† the stranger shouted. â€Å"I know you did,† Slick said. â€Å"Looks like you were a little heavy on the English. My shot.† The stranger seemed to be angry at someone, but it wasn't Slick. â€Å"How can you confuse the six with the three, you idiot?† â€Å"You got me,† said Slick. â€Å"Don't be so hard on yourself, pard. You're up one game already.† Slick ran four balls, then missed a shot that was so obvious it made Robert wince. Slick's hustles were usually more subtle. â€Å"Five in the side!† the stranger shouted. â€Å"Got that? Five!† â€Å"I got it,† Slick said. â€Å"And all these folks got it along with half the people out in the street. You don't need to yell, pard. This is just a friendly game.† The stranger bent over the table and shot. The five ball careened off the cue ball, headed for the rail, then changed its path and curved into the side pocket. Robert was amazed, as were all the observers. It was an impossible shot, yet they all had seen it. â€Å"Damn,† Slick said to no one in particular, then to Mavis, â€Å"Mavis, when was the last time you leveled this table?† â€Å"Yesterday, Slick.† â€Å"Well, it sure as shit went catywumpus fast. Give me my cue, Mavis.† Mavis waddled to the end of the bar and pulled out a three-foot-long black leather case. She handled it carefully and presented it to Slick with reverence, a decrepit Lady of the Lake presenting a hardwood Excaliber to the rightful king. Slick flipped the case open and screwed the cue together, never taking his eyes off the stranger. At the sight of the cue the stranger smiled. Slick smiled back. The game was defined. Two hustlers recognized each other. A tacit agreement passed between them: Let's cut the bullshit and play. Robert had become so engrossed in watching the tension between the two men and trying to figure out why the stranger angered him so, that he failed to notice that someone had slipped onto the stool next to him. Then she spoke. â€Å"How are you, Robert?† Her voice was deep and throaty. She placed her hand on his arm and gave it a sympathetic squeeze. Robert turned and was taken aback by her appearance. She always affected him that way. She affected most men that way. She was wearing a black body stocking, belted at the waist with wide leather in which she had tucked a multitude of chiffon scarves that danced around her hips when she walked like diaphanous ghosts of Salome. Her wrists were adorned with layers of silver bangles; her nails were sculptured long and lacquered black. Her eyes were wide and green, set far apart over a small, straight nose and full lips, glossed blood red. Her hair hung to her waist, blue-black. An inverted silver pentagram dangled between her breasts on a silver chain. â€Å"I'm miserable,† Robert said. â€Å"Thanks for asking, Ms. Henderson.† â€Å"My friends call me Rachel.† â€Å"Okay. I'm miserable, Ms. Henderson.† Rachel was thirty-five but she could have passed for twenty if it weren't for the arrogant sensuality with which she moved and the mocking smile in her eyes that evinced experience, confidence, and guile beyond any twenty-year-old. Her body did not betray her age; it was her manner. She went through men like water. Robert had known her for years, but her presence never failed to awaken in him a feeling that his marital fidelity was nothing more than an absurd notion. In retrospect, perhaps it was. Still, she made him feel uneasy. â€Å"I'm not your enemy, Robert. No matter what you think. Jenny has been thinking about leaving you for a long time. We didn't have anything to do with it.† â€Å"How are things with the coven?† Robert asked sarcastically. â€Å"It's not a coven. The Pagan Vegetarians for Peace are dedicated to Earth consciousness, both spiritual and physical.† Robert drained his fifth beer and slammed the mug down on the bar. â€Å"The Pagan Vegetarians for Peace are a group of bitter, ball-biting, man haters, dedicated to breaking up marriages and turning men into toads.† â€Å"That's not true and you know it.† â€Å"What I know,† Robert said, â€Å"is that within a year of joining, every woman in your coven has divorced her husband. I was against Jenny getting into this mumbo jumbo from the beginning. I told her you would brainwash her and you have.† Rachel reared back on the bar stool like a hissing cat. â€Å"You believe what you want to believe, Robert. I show women the Goddess within. I put them in touch with their own personal power; what they do with it is their own business. We aren't against men. Men just can't stand to see a woman discover herself. Maybe if you'd exalted Jenny's growth instead of criticizing, she'd still be around.† Robert turned away from her and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror behind the bar. He was overcome by a wave of self-loathing. She was right. He covered his face with his hands and leaned forward on the bar. â€Å"Look, I didn't come here to fight with you,† Rachel said. â€Å"I saw your truck outside and I thought you might be able to use a little money. I have some work for you. It might take your mind off the hurt.† â€Å"What?† Robert said through his hands. â€Å"We're sponsoring the annual tofu sculpture contest at the park this year. We need someone to take pictures for the poster and the press package. I know you're broke, Robert.† â€Å"No,† he said, without looking up. â€Å"Fine. Suit yourself.† Rachel slid off the stood and started to leave. Mavis sat another beer in front of Robert and counted his money on the bar. â€Å"Very smooth,† she said. â€Å"You've got four bucks left to your name.† Robert looked up. Rachel was almost to the door. â€Å"Rachel!† She turned and waited, an elegant hand on an exquisite hip. â€Å"I'm staying at The Breeze's trailer.† He told her the phone number. â€Å"Call me, okay?† Rachel smiled. â€Å"Okay, Robert, I'll call.† She turned to walk out. Robert called out to her again. â€Å"You haven't seen The Breeze, have you?† Rachel grimaced. â€Å"Robert, just being in the same room with The Breeze makes me want to take a bath in bleach.† â€Å"Come on, he's a fun guy.† â€Å"He's a fun-gus,† Rachel said. â€Å"But have you seen him?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"Thanks,† he said. â€Å"Call me.† â€Å"I will.† She turned and walked out. When she opened the door, light spilling in blinded Robert. When his vision returned, a little man in a red stocking cap was sitting next to him. He hadn't seen him come in. To Mavis the little man said, â€Å"Could I trouble you for a small quantity of salt?† â€Å"How about a margarita with extra salt, handsome?† Mavis batted her spider-lashes. â€Å"Yes, that will be good. Thank you.† Robert looked the little man over for a moment, then turned away to watch the pool game while he contemplated his destiny. Maybe this job for Rachel was his way out. Strange, though, things didn't seem to be bad enough yet. And the idea that Rachel could be his fairy godmother in disguise made him smile. No, the downward spiral to salvation was going quite nicely. The Breeze was missing. The rent was due. He had made enemies with a crazed Mexican drug dealer, and it was driving him nuts trying to figure out where he had seen the stranger at the pool table. The game was still going strong. Slick was running the balls with machinelike precision. When he did miss, the stranger cleared the table with a series of impossible, erratic, curving shots, while the crowd watched with their jaws hanging, and Slick broke into a nervous sweat. Slick McCall had been the undisputed king of eight ball at the Head of the Slug Saloon since before it had been called the Head of the Slug. The bar had been the Head of the Wolf for fifty years, until Mavis grew tired of the protests of drunken environmentalists, who insisted that timber wolves were an endangered species and that the saloon was somehow sanctioning their killing. One day she had taken the stuffed wolf head that hung over the bar to the Salvation Army and had a local artist render a giant slug head in fiberglass to replace it. Then she changed the sign and waited for some half-wit from the Save the Slugs Society to show up and protest. It never happened. In business, as in politics, the public is ever so tolerant of those who slime. Years ago, Slick and Mavis had come to a mutually beneficial business agreement. Mavis allowed Slick to make his living on her pool table, and in return, Slick agreed to pay her twenty percent of his winnings and to excuse himself from the Slug's annual eight-ball tournament. Robert had been coming into the Slug for seven years and in that time he had never seen Slick rattled over a pool game. Slick was rattled now. Occasionally some tourist who had won the Sheep's Penis Kansas Nine-Ball tournament would come into the Slug puffed up like the omnipotent god of the green felt, and Slick would return him to Earth, deflating his ego with gentle pokes from his custom-made, ivory-inlaid cue. But those fellows played within the known laws of physics. The dark stranger played as if Newton had been dropped on his head at birth. To his credit, Slick played his usual methodical game, but Robert could tell that he was afraid. When the stranger sank the eight ball in a hundred-dollar game, Slick's fear turned to anger and he threw his custom cue across the room like a crazed Zulu. â€Å"Goddammit, boy, I don't know how you're doing it, but no one can shoot like that.† Slick was screaming into the stranger's face, his fists were balled at his sides. â€Å"Back off,† the stranger said. All the boyishness drained from his face. He could have been a thousand years old, carved in stone. His eyes were locked on Slick's. â€Å"The game is over.† He might have been stating that â€Å"water is wet.† It was truth. It was deadly serious. Slick reached into the pocket of his jeans, fished out a handful of crumpled twenties, and threw them on the table. The stranger picked up the bills and walked out. Slick retrieved his stick and began taking it apart. The daytime regulars remained silent, allowing Slick to gather his dignity. â€Å"That was like a fucking bad dream,† he said to the onlookers. The comment hit Robert like a sock full of birdshot. He suddenly remembered where he had seen the stranger. The dream of the desert came back to him with crippling clarity. He turned back to his beer, stunned. â€Å"You want a margarita?† Mavis asked him. She was holding a baseball bat she had pulled from under the bar when things had heated up at the pool table. Robert looked to the stool next to him. The little man was gone. â€Å"He saw that guy make one shot and ran out of here like his ass was on fire,† Mavis said. Robert picked up the margarita and downed its frozen contents in one gulp, giving himself an instant headache. Outside on the street Travis and Catch headed toward the service station. â€Å"Well, maybe you should learn to shoot pool if you're going to get money this way.† â€Å"Maybe you could pay attention when I call a shot.† â€Å"I didn't hear you. I don't understand why we just don't steal our money.† â€Å"I don't like to steal.† â€Å"You stole from the pimp in L.A.† â€Å"That was okay.† â€Å"What's the difference?† â€Å"Stealing is immoral.† â€Å"And cheating at pool isn't?† â€Å"I didn't cheat. I just had an unfair advantage. He had a custom-made pool cue. I had you to push the balls in.† â€Å"I don't understand morality.† â€Å"That's not surprising.† â€Å"I don't think you understand it either.† â€Å"We have to pick up the car.† â€Å"Where are we going?† â€Å"To see an old friend.† â€Å"You say that everywhere we go.† â€Å"This is the last one.† â€Å"Sure.† â€Å"Be quiet. People are looking.† â€Å"You're trying to be tricky. What's morality?† â€Å"It's the difference between what is right and what you can rationalize.† â€Å"Must be a human thing.† â€Å"Exactly.†

Request for Proposal (Rfp) Essay

Executive Summary The purpose of this report was to find information about RFP in order to successfully implement Supply Chain Management software. The main source for all this information was the internet. Each of the RFP sources have an assortment of advantages and disadvantages. However, after analyzing each of them carefully, I came to the conclusion that the first and second option together would be the best choice to use since we are doing this for the first time. This decision would initially be costly but would reduce the expenses in the future. It would also be efficient because it would allow us to eliminate inferior vendors, which in turn would facilitate us in implementing the appropriate SCM software. Additionally, it would reduce project costs and formalize our problems and opportunities. All in all, after extensive research and analysis, I would say that this is the best decision for us to undertake. Table of Contents 1.Executive Summary 2.Summary of Research 3.Review of the source 4.Recommendation 5.References Summary of Research Outline 1.Internet searching †¢Websites that provided information about Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Request For Proposal (RFP) 2.Analyzed and evaluated the information and source 3.Selected a few reliable sources 4.Read selected information 5.Chose three sources 6.Analyzed the sources 7.Summarized each of them Resources used The main resource used was the internet. The following resources were utilized: Priority Integrated Marketing, Technology Evaluation Centers website. Finding as much information about the subject as possible in order to read and compare was important. Comparison of the information allowed me to determine the description of RFP and decide which information could be useful. In order to confirm the resources were reliable, a criterion of whether the website belonged to a professional company had to be met. Additionally, most of the resources gave general descriptions, but only those that could be useful were selected. A thorough read of all the information provided in order to isolate the most important aspects had to be undertaken. Review of the source RFP # 1 Source: Priority Integrated Marketing Title: â€Å"How to Write a Request for Proposal (RFP)† ProsCons †¢Explained the purpose of RFP †¢Listed the common elements of RFP †¢Described type of writing (language) that should be used †¢Emphasized the most important element of RFP †¢Provided RFP template †¢Described RFP process steps †¢Elements description is too vague †¢Template is general †¢RFP real example not included RFP # 2 Source: Technology Evaluation Centers Title: â€Å"Supply Chain Management (SCM) RFP Template† ProsCons †¢RFP Template for concrete purpose such as SCM †¢Listed SCM functions †¢A free sample in Excel included †¢Possibility to order appropriate template †¢Ordered template developed by the professionals †¢Template delivered as Excel spreadsheet †¢Purpose of RFP is not explained †¢Described RFP generally †¢Free sample is for transportation service †¢Ordered template is not free RFP # 3 Source: Internet Title: â€Å"ABC of RFP: how to develop an effective request for hazardous waste management services† ProsCons †¢Describes the importance and purpose of RFP †¢Process divided in stages †¢Explanation of every stage †¢Summary of key consideration at the end of stage A and B †¢RFP for the waste service †¢Some points not relevant †¢RFP for longer term cooperation †¢Template is not included Recommendation As was mentioned in one of the sources, RFP is time consuming. However, a good RFP could be beneficial for the company especially if the correct SCM software had to be chosen. Since this is the first time we are using RFP, we should use a combination of both option 1 and option 2. The first option explained the purpose and intention of RFP. It explains all the elements that need to be included in RFP, with brief descriptions accompanying each of them, and emphasizes the most important element. Also, it describes all the steps that should be taken into consideration. In addition, the first one included a request for proposal template which would give us an idea of how it is supposed to look like. The second option is a typical Supply Chain Management (SCM) RFP template which could be useful in our current situation. It lists the features and functions, and serves as a knowledge foundation reference throughout the entire time of our SCM software project utilization. Furthermore, the se cond option provides a free sample in Excel that we can use in order to prepare our RFP. Moreover, it also gives the option for ordering the appropriate RFP for our current situation which we can take into consideration because it is our first time using RFP. Although, it could be costly, a good RFP would eliminate inferior vendors and help use implement correct SCM software, which would be beneficial towards, and reduce future expenses. References †¢ How to Write a Request for Proposal (RFP). (n.d.). Minneapolis Web Design. Retrieved September 20, 2012, from http://www.netdynasty.com/articles/how-to-write-a-request-for-proposal.asp †¢ Supply Chain Management (SCM) RFP Template. (n.d.). Free RFP Template Samples. Retrieved September 20, 2012, from http://rfp.technologyevaluation.com/store.asp?catid=5&productid=879

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Climate change proposal - Assignment Example Geological Survey (USGS), 2008). This information on sea-level rise (SLR) was likewise corroborated by authors Gillette and Hamilton (2011) whose article disclosed that â€Å"SLR is a major concern for populations living in low-lying coastal regions (about 25% of humans), because it will give rise to inundation (both temporary and permanent flooding), wetland loss, shoreline erosion, and saltwater intrusion into surface freshwater bodies and aquifers, and it will raise water tables† (p. 25). These authors likewise indicated that the number of people to be affected by a uniform one-meter rise in sea level is approximately 145,000,000, where more than 105 million would come from Asia; followed by Europe (approximately 20 million); Latin America, 18 million; Africa, 15 million; North America, 12 million; and Australia, about 5 million (Gillette & Hamilton, 2011). The sea-level rise assessment, shown in Figure 1 below, shows the impact of SLR in identified local areas. In this regard, given the significance of the issue, those people identified to be accurately affected by the SLR should be slowly relocated and resettled to higher areas and locations through integrated efforts of the government agencies. These efforts were deemed â€Å"extremely costly process that could have a negative effect on the economies of many countries† (Gillette & Hamilton, 2011, p. 30); but lives are universally acknowledged as of prime importance and therefore, strategic measures must be instituted at the earliest possible time. Source: USGS map locator— http://store.usgs.gov/b2c_usgs/usgs/ maplocator/%28ctype=areaDetails&xcm=r3standardpitrex_prd&carea=%24ROOT&layout=6_1_61_75&uiarea=2%29/.do; cited in Gillette & Hamilton, 2011, p. 30 Gillette, B., & Hamilton, C. (2011, March). Flooded! An Investigation of Sea-Level Rise in a Changing Climate. Retrieved May 26, 2012, from www.cresis.ku.edu:

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Energy Drink and Red Bull Essay Example for Free

Energy Drink and Red Bull Essay This global profile focuses on the industry trends in soft drinks. ? All values expressed in this report are retail/off-trade in US dollar terms using a fixed exchange rate (2012). ? 2012 figures are based on part-year estimates. ? All forecast data are expressed in constant terms; inflationary effects are discounted. Conversely, all historical data are expressed in current terms; inflationary effects are taken into account. SOFT DRINKS OFF-TRADE RTD VOLUME 534. 8 billion litres Bottled Water 192 billion litres Sports and Bottled and Energy Drinks Sports Energy Water 15 billion litres Drinks 205. 1 billion 16. 2 billion litres Concentrates litres 43 billion litres RTD Coffee 4. 5 billion litres Disclaimer Much of the information in this briefing is of a statistical nature and, while every attempt has been made to ensure accuracy and reliability, Euromonitor International cannot be held responsible for omissions or errors. Figures in tables and analyses are calculated from unrounded data and may not sum. Analyses found in the briefings may not totally reflect the companies’ opinions, reader discretion is advised. Carbonates 169. 5 billion litres. Fruit/Vegetable Juice 62. 0 billion litres Concentrates 43. 7 billion litres RTD Tea 30. 1 billion litres While Red Bull remains the world leader in energy drinks, it is facing growing competition from other players. TCCC in particular, with Monster in the US and Burn in Brazil, is also posing an increasing threat. These two markets are emerging as energy drinks battlegrounds and the implications are considerable for Red Bull’s ability to remain the number one ranked player.  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 2Dietrich Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya each owned a 49% stake prior to 2012 when Mr Yoovidhya passed away. Mr Yoovidhya’s son Chalerm holds the remaining 2%. While Mr Yoovidhya was alive he acted as a silent partner. Red Bull GmbH Headquarters: Regional involvement: Category involvement: Fuschl am See, Austria Global Carbonates, sports and energy drinks ? Red Bull has created the global market for energy drinks, and the pioneering Red Bull brand has became synonymous with energy drinks for a large number of consumers. Red Bull remains bullish and ambitious in their corporate brand. Despite rising competition, Red Bull continues to comfortably lead the global energy drinks market in both volume and value terms. However, the threat from The CocaCola Co (TCCC) has been mounting. World soft drinks share by off-trade 0. 2% RTD volume (2012): World soft drinks off-trade RTD volume 12. 4% growth (2011-2012):  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 4 STRATEGIC EVALUATION Red Bull continues to see strong net sales growth ? Red Bull operates many other businesses aside from energy drinks The company owns and manages a construction company, football clubs, youth academies and TV broadcasting and recently online clothing (Red Bull label only) sales. ? Additional media products include print magazines about football, motor racing, celebrity gossip and lifestyle. The company has even ventured into the mobile phone service business in Austria, Hungary, Switzerland and South Africa.? As a privately-held company, financial information is limited however the company reported net sales of â‚ ¬4. 9 billion in 2012 and 5. 2 billion cans sold, representing growth of 15. 9% and 12. 8%, respectively.  © Euromonitor International ? Red Bull reported exceptionally strong net sales growth in South Africa (+52%), Japan (+51%), Saudi Arabia (+38%), France (+21%), the US (+17%) and Germany (+14%). Red Bull cited efficient cost management and ongoing brand investment as underpinning its growing profitability. SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 5 STRATEGIC EVALUATION SWOT: Red Bull GmbH STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES Broad geographic presence ? Red Bull has ? Red Bull has a broad established a strong, geographic presence, consistent brand image which should ensure (an independent, edgy positive long-term brand) globally. Red Bull growth even if certain is synonymous with markets reach maturity. energy drinks in many countries. Category leader OPPORTUNITIES Category limitations Controversial ? In overall soft drinks, ? The relatively high Red Bull has a limited caffeine content of Red product portfolio Bull makes the brand compared to the rising highly vulnerable to number of rivals with a regulatory control. plethora of flavour variants and categories. THREATS. Emerging markets New production Competition High marketing costs ? Red Bull is building a new ? Monster represents the ? Market maturity in ? Emerging markets production facility in Brazil biggest threat to Red developed markets will represent newer which is likely to make its Bull as it contains make marketing to its geographies for Red retail price more natural ingredients, core consumers harder Bull’s expansion. competitive than imported which seem more than in the past. Accelerating the product prices. Building a desirable than Red Bull Constant communication marketing and site in Asia should also be for some consumers.with consumers means sponsorships in these high marketing costs. markets is a wise move. considered.  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 6 STRATEGIC EVALUATION Key strategic challenges and objectives It is not easy at the top ? Red Bull’s success has attracted considerable interest from soft drinks multinationals, TCCC and PepsiCo. TCCC in particular has been successful at leveraging its distribution network to launch Burn across many markets and to back Monster. Burn is a major threat to Red Bull in Brazil while in the US Monster has overtaken Red Bull in offtrade volume sales terms. Red Bull will need to find ways to hold onto its number one ranking globally in energy drinks and stave off this competition. Will premium work in emerging markets? ? Red Bull has consistently maintained its premium positioning from its slimline metal cans to its price differential versus brands such as Monster. While this strategy has reaped dividends in the mature markets, it remains to be seen if it will sustain growth in the emerging markets. Brazil with its large population of lower-income consumers may pose a challenge giving cheaper brands such as TCCC’s Burn a competitive advantage. Red Bull stands up to health regulators ? While health officials continue to voice concerns over energy drinks and the category remains under threat from stronger regulation, energy drinks has seen relatively little impact in terms of sales. To some extent this has added to the category’s â€Å"edginess† attracting young consumers and generating consumer interest. There is little risk of Red Bull reformulating its product to cater to health concerns and instead the company insists that its products do not pose a health risk. Red Bull breaks with tradition in 2013 ? In 2013, Red Bull, for the first time in 15 years added new products to its energy drinks range. Red Bull underperformed the overall energy drinks market in 2011-2012. While the company’s market share of the energy drinks market in the US increased in 2012, the market’s growth rate overall began to wane. Red Bull remains heavily dependent on the US for its global growth. Weakness here is reflected in the company’s weakening global performance in volume terms. The company however continues to enjoy the position of number one ranked player in energy drinks globally with a 21. 4% market share. ? In terms of absolute volume growth however, the US remained Red Bull’s key growth engine in 2011-2012 reflecting growth of 96% over 2007-2012. Brazil came second in terms of absolute volume growth expanding by 608% over the review period or 48% CAGR. This market was a particular focus for Red Bull with the company sponsoring various sporting events in order to raise the brand’s profile.  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 9 COMPETITIVE POSITIONING Red Bull faces mounting pressure ? In value terms, the company’s performance was stronger in recent years although even in value terms the company’s performance fell below that of the energy drinks market overall. The energy drinks market has attracted a number of other players including Monster Beverage Co, and The Coca-Cola Co (TCCC) which marketed it own brands in the category including Burn as well as engaging in a distribution alliance with Monster Beverage Co. PepsiCo had a modest presence in energy drinks with its brand Sting; however like TCCC it maintained its own alliance, with Rockstar Inc. ? Red Bull’s sister brand non-carbonated Red Bull remains owned by TC Pharmaceutical which led the energy drinks category in China and was present in Thailand where it ranked second. Top 10 players in soft drinks by off-trade value share Soft Drinks: Global Top 10 Companies by Off-Trade Value, Rank 2007-2012 and 2012 Share 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2011 Company Coca-Cola Co, The PepsiCo Inc Nestle SA Suntory Holdings Ltd Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc Danone, Groupe Red Bull GmbH Asahi Group Holdings Ltd % company share 2012 26. 2 11. 3 2. 8 2. 7 2. 0 1. 9 1. 6 1. 5 ? Danone’s volume share is significantly higher than its value share, due to its large volume sales of low-priced bottled water in emerging markets, notably Aqua (Asia Pacific) and Bonafont (Latin America). Meanwhile, Mondelez does not rank among the top 10 in value terms due to its reliance on the low-priced concentrates category in RTD volume terms. ? Red Bull GmbH however with its relatively premium but small serving size Red Bull brand ranks seventh in 2012. The company’s narrow focus in soft drinks, being almost exclusively based on energy drinks, continues to keep the company out of the top five in soft drinks. ? TCCC and PepsiCo capture a stronger share in value than in volume terms chiefly due to their products, particularly carbonates, being priced higher than local brands and   ? North America will continue to lead energy drinks in absolute volume growth terms over the forecast period. However, its CAGR of 8. 1% over 2012-2017 represents a moderation from the 11. 4% CAGR seen over 2007-2012. The Monster brand has led the market in the US over the review period in terms of absolute volume growth. Rockstar, due in large part to its alliance with PepsiCo, has also seen strong growth in this market. ? Red Bull entered China in 2011, however Asia Pacific remains the company’s weakest region in terms of market share. However, this region will be exceeded only by North America in terms of absolute off-trade volume growth over 2012-2017 which may raise some concerns for Red Bull. After a period of strong market share gains in this region between 2007-2010 its performance began to moderate. TC Pharmaceutical with its non-carbonated version of Red Bull is the regional leader. Despite the close relationship between Red Bull GmbH and TC Pharmaceutical with the latter having been founded by the late Chaleo Yoovidhya, the companies remain separate entities.  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 14 MARKET ASSESSMENT The Americas to lead growth in energy drinks ? In value terms, both Latin America and Asia Pacific gained in importance for Red Bull over the review period. Latin American sales represented 12% of global value sales in 2012 while Asia Pacific made up 8%. In terms of growth prospects, the strongest growth will take place in North America where the market for energy drinks will expand by US$4. 1 billion over 2012-2017. In CAGR terms however, the strongest performance will take place in Latin America which will see a 20% CAGR. ? Red Bull is ranked number one in both markets. In Latin America, its market share remains a healthy 49. 7%, however this represents a decline over 2007-2012 as the company faced strong competition from TCCC whose share has risen from 2. 5% in 2007 to 14. 9% in 2012. ? Growth in both Eastern and Western Europe will be a comparatively modest at 5% and 5. 1% CAGRs, respectively. However, these exceed the CAGRs for soft drinks overall in these regions, which will be only 2. 7% and 0. 5%, respectively. CATEGORY AND GEOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITIES Leading players in energy drinks by off-trade volume and value  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 17 CATEGORY AND GEOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITIES Red Bull shows some weakness in volume sales ? The rankings of the leading players in energy drinks vary significantly by volume and value. Red Bull commands a stronger market share in value than in volume terms reflecting its relatively high price points and reliance on the mature markets, particularly the US, for its sales. The company however maintained is leading position by both measures in 2012 although in both cases it has seen its market share plateau over 2007-2012. ? The Lucozade brand has faced strong competition in its domestic UK market from Red Bull. In 2012, GSK announced a strategic review of the Lucozade and Ribena brands, which may lead to possible divestment. ? Red Bull has been constrained to some extent in volume terms by its highly concentrated production infrastructure. Up to 2012, the company produced exclusively in Austria leading to high shipping and ? The major winner over the review period was production costs, which opened up the emerging Monster Beverage Co, which until 2012 was known markets in particular to less expensive energy drinks as Hansen Natural Corp. Underpinned by its brands. In 2012, the company announced plans to distribution agreement with TCCC the brand has build its first factory abroad in Brazil which may help made rapid gains in both value and volume terms. improve its competitiveness. The brand’s success has been driven by its North ? Rockstar’s distribution agreement with PepsiCo did American performance where it generated 90% of not bring in the same share gains as the Monster its volume sales in 2012. and TCCC alliance. Rockstar made few share gains ? In contrast GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and its Lucozade brand have been losing market share. In volume terms, GSK has lost 2. 4 percentage points in market share over 2007-2012. globally, with sales mainly coming from developed Western markets where Red Bull continues to lead. PepsiCo may have found it hard to drive Rockstar sales in these mature markets in the face of TCCC’s penetration and Red Bull’s dominance.  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 18 CATEGORY AND GEOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITIES Most dynamic energy drinks markets over forecast period  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 19 CATEGORY AND GEOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITIES Red Bull tries to counter weakness in key markets with new launch ? While the US will lead growth in energy drinks in both volume and value terms over 2012-2017 there are clear differences among the top 10 rankings by both measures. ? China will push ahead of Brazil in volume growth terms. The market for energy drinks in China is more mature than in Brazil. Unit price growth in Brazil will as a consequence be higher than that in China allowing it to take second position in terms of value sales growth. In China, Red Bull’s sister company TC Pharmaceutical with its Red Bull is the overwhelming category leader with a market share of 81. 2% in off-trade volume terms in 2012. ? Markets entering the top 10 in volume terms include the Philippines and Vietnam both relatively price-sensitive markets. Per capita consumption however in both markets is higher than the global average. Energy drinks in many Asian markets have a long history of being consumed by truck drivers and labourers as a temporary energy boost. These products were in fact the original inspiration for Red Bull; a Westernised version of the potent drinks sold through by Thai pharmacists.  © Euromonitor International ? The UK ranks among the top five most dynamic markets in both volume and value terms. While Lucozade remains the leader here, its fortunes have waned. Red Bull was responsible for much of Lucozade’s market share loss in the early part of the review period. However, later in the review period, smaller brands are increasing fragmentation. The UK is becoming increasingly fragmented as newer and smaller players have entered the market. ? In 2013, Red Bull launched three new flavour variants in the US market. This marks the first major launch for the brand in the energy drinks category over the review period. The new range called Edition includes cranberry-, blueberry- and lime- flavoured variants packaged in red, blue and silver cans, respectively. The move may help to invigorate consumer interest in key markets such as the UK and the US where the range of energy drinks options has increased considerably. It is recommended that the range be rolled out to other markets where market share has weakened. SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 20 CATEGORY AND GEOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITIES Top US brands in energy drinks  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 21 CATEGORY AND GEOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITIES Red Bull and Monster look to high-adrenaline sports sponsorship Monster pulls ahead in volume sales ? The Monster brand pulled ahead of Red Bull in the US energy drinks market in 2009 in volume sales terms but remains second to Red Bull in value terms. Monster has achieved wider presence in supermarket and forecourt retailers. TCCC has leveraged its strong distribution network through both channels thus giving Monster an edge in terms of volume sales. ? The Monster brand has also been supported by sponsorship of high-adrenaline sports such as MotoGP, NASCAR and Freestyle Motocross which is a direct challenge to Red Bull, which also relies on sponsorship of these sorts of events to maintain consumer interest. Another reason behind the disparity has been the fact that Red Bull sells primarily in smaller 8. 3oz cans, whereas Monster is sold in larger 16oz cans at a relatively cheaper price. Red Bull has since begun to offer its product in a wider variety of sizes and in 2012 trumped Monster with Red Bull Stratos, sponsoring Felix Baumgartner’s free-fall from over 128,000 feet. Threat from consumer health ? Both Monster and Red Bull have also been challenged by the 5-Hour Energy brand from Living Essentials, included in Euromonitor International’s Consumer Health database as a tonic and bottled nutritive drink. This product has been heavily marketed on US television and offers a small pack size (57ml) and the benefit of being sugar-free. While Monster is targeted primarily at younger male consumers, 5-Hour Energy is positioning itself as a pick-me-up for office workers and working mothers. ? The addition of new flavours in 2013 will help to reignite consumer interest. Red Bull’s success in the US has been due in part to its success in the on-trade which has helped to introduce the brand into the off-trade. Educating consumers about how the new flavours can be mixed with alcoholic drinks in the on-trade should form part the marketing campaign to launch the brand.  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 22. CATEGORY AND GEOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITIES Leading players in Brazilian energy drinks  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 23 CATEGORY AND GEOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITIES Red Bull vs Burn in Brazil TCCC pushes Burn ? Strong growth in the Brazilian energy drinks market has attracted a wider number of players, many of whom have focused on the emergent C socioeconomic class, launching energy drinks at lower prices in 1-litre PET bottles. Examples include BadBoy Power Drink from Horizonte and Orbit from Bebidas Chiamulera. These moves have helped to fuel growth overall in the category.? TCCC has made significant gains in the market with its Burn brand investing significant resources in marketing. Like Red Bull, TCCC has targeted high-adrenaline sporting activities, announcing in 2012 its sponsorship of Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus F1 team. The brand competes directly with Red Bull, packaged similarly in a slimline metal can. Its price points however are typically lower than those of Red Bull giving it a stronger presence among lower-income groups. ? In 2012, Red Bull announced plans to begin producing its energy drinks locally. Localisation of production will help Red Bull ? Localising production in such a key market is a wise move for Red Bull. It also gives the company stronger capacity more widely in Latin America where the markets for energy drinks in Colombia and Mexico are also set to see strong growth. While Red Bull’s number one position remains safe for the time being, reducing the price premium with TCCC is recommended. This will be supported by significantly reducing costs associated with importing the product from Austria. ? The entry of Anheuser-Busch InBev NV was a key development in the market in 2011. By 2012, the Fusion brand had managed to capture 0. 2% of sales in off-trade volume terms which, while modest compared to the Red Bull brand at 19. 8%, indicates strong potential for further growth. Marketing initiatives centred around the popular Big Brother Brazil TV programme in 2012 helped to increase awareness of the brand among young people.  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 24 CATEGORY AND GEOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITIES Worlds apart: A tale of two Red Bulls ? The relative weakness of Red Bull from Red Bull GmbH in Asia Pacific is due in part to the strength of sister brand Red Bull from TC Pharmaceutical. A more cohesive international strategy should be developed by both companies. ? The strongest prospects for the two players is in China, however opportunities are also being missed in markets such as the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. TC Pharmaceutical sales here in energy drinks have been virtually flat over the review period, as newer, more dynamic brands such as Cobra from Asia Brewery and Sting from PepsiCo in the Philippines have invested heavily in marketing and advertising. ? A decisive entry for Red Bull GmbH in key Asian markets will be complicated by the presence of TC Pharmaceutical’s Red Bull. However, both companies could benefit from working more closely together including on the production side to reduce costs and widen their distribution network. The sudden death of TC Pharmaceutical founder Chaleo Yoovidhya in 2012 may present a challenge however in ongoing collaboration.  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 25 STRATEGIC EVALUATION COMPETITIVE POSITIONING MARKET ASSESSMENT CATEGORY AND GEOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITIES BRAND STRATEGY OPERATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS BRAND STRATEGY Red Bull’s premium focus will result in pressure on market share ? Red Bull’s sales in 2012 remained dominated by the US market. In most of its major markets the company has managed to retain its number one position in volume terms despite strong competition from newer entrants. The US is an exception where Monster owing to the strength of its alliance with TCCC combined with an aggressive marketing campaign has managed to topple Red Bull from first place. ? In value terms however, the company’s premium positioning has meant its ranking has remained more secure. As the dynamics of forecast demand shift to emerging markets, where consumers remain more price sensitive, this premium focus will result in growing pressure on Red Bull’s market share. TCCC and PepsiCo have emerged as the company’s strongest competition whether indirectly through distribution agreements such as TCCC/ Monster and PepsiCo/Rockstar and through their own directly owned brands such as Burn and Sting, respectively  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 27 BRAND STRATEGY High octane sports drive home Red Bull message ? Event and sports sponsorship have been key elements for Red Bull’s marketing strategy for many years. Red Bull’s eponymous brand has achieved remarkable global success and 30-40% of its sales are re-invested back in marketing and promotional activity. Red Bull’s strategy has historically been a 3-pronged approach incorporating buzz marketing, sponsorship and TV advertising. Buzz marketing, including handing out free samples at campuses and events where under 30s gather, is often used as a way of initially raising consumer awareness when entering new markets. ? In 2012, the company took its marketing literally to an entirely new level with the Stratos campaign which featured Felix Baumgartner in a record- breaking 128,000 feet jump from the earth’s stratosphere, making him the first man to break the speed of sound while in freefall. The event was streamed live on line with viewers able to log in to post comments via Twitter and Facebook. Motorsports is another key focus for the company with its own very successful F1 racing team.  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 28 BRAND STRATEGY Red Bull tries to stay true to its roots ? In a bid to stave off competition from rival brands, Red Bull launched the Red Bull Edition range in 2013 in select city markets in the US. The launch will likely be followed by a nationwide roll-out later in the year. Despite pressure from other energy drinks brands many of which have launched additional flavours Red Bull has stayed loyal to its original formulation and packaging. ? The launch of cranberry, blueberry and lime Red Bull variants is a major direction change for the brand, being its first major launch over the review period. In order to differentiate between Red Bull Edition and the original Red Bull the new cans received a facelift with the addition of new colours and a new bull design. ? Red Bull has not as aggressively as other brands launched into new packaging formats, remaining almost exclusively with slimline metal cans. It has however in some mature markets such as the UK launched into 1-litre PET bottles. This reluctance is in part due to the company’s strategy of retaining its premium positioning.  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 29 STRATEGIC EVALUATION COMPETITIVE POSITIONING MARKET ASSESSMENT CATEGORY AND GEOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITIES BRAND STRATEGY OPERATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS OPERATIONS Expanded corporate operations Red Bull GmbH Red Bull Soft Drinks Other Businesses Red Bull Energy Drinks Motor Racing, Media, MVNO, Fashion Online Retailing Red Bull Simply Cola, Carpe Diem.  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 31 OPERATIONS Red Bull looks to diversification ? Red Bull is diversifying into other businesses, rather than limiting itself to energy drinks. In recent years, it has been branching out and became a media company in its own right. The participation in sports sponsorships and events connects the company with a global brand that has passion and excitement associated with it. The company is also present in RTD tea and bottled water with the Carpe Diem brand which it launched to target the health and wellness trend in soft drinks. Carpe Diem Kombucha is a premium RTD tea sold in Western Europe. The brand is also in bottled water in Switzerland and Austria using plant extracts and slight carbonation to offer a healthy alternative to carbonates. ? The company owns two Formula One teams (Red Bull Racing, Scuderia Toro Rosso), a NASCAR racing team as well as several football teams in Brazil, the US and Germany. ? In South Africa, the company is partnering with Cell C to offer voice and broadband services as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), ie a company that provides a mobile phone service but does not have its own licensed frequency. Red Bull Mobile will be the second MVNO in the country, after Virgin Mobile. ? It also sponsors many events from cliff diving to air races and subscribing to Red Bull Mobile is a way for people who like the brand to access further benefits when they attend these events. These kinds of partnerships between operators and consumer brands are common in Europe. In Germany, for example, one operator, E-Plus, has 19 such partnerships. It is a way for these brands to get closer to their target group. ? The Group also includes Austrian TV station ServusTV, lifestyle and fashion magazines and a construction company called Bull Bau. ? Red Bull had 8,966 employees in 165 countries as of 2012. The company, which is not listed, traditionally finances its investments from its cash flow.  © Euromonitor International SOFT DRINKS: RED BULL GMBH PASSPORT 32 OPERATIONS Red Bull expands production outside Austria for first time ? Red Bull received approval from the B\razilian government to build its first production facility in the country in early 2010. The companys initial investment in the pr.

Radio-frequency Identification (RFID) System Development

Radio-frequency Identification (RFID) System Development Abstract In this proposal, I would like to investigate is the shopping system work for the visually impaired person. For the methodology part, my research is separate in two main parts. In the first part, I will interview with the supermarket customers to gain a basic understanding of the opinion to build a shopping system work for the visually impaired person. In the second part is about the product, the process is the supermarket got the RFID system in the future, then visually impaired person have the watch to receive the RFID that let them to know where they are and also the information of the product they want. My system will also want to understand the specific difficulties and troubles that the visually impaired person may happen and their needs with the super market shopping system. I begin by evaluating the impact of supermarket and the visually impaired person. I will show the system which for the super market to use, then examine the results of a survey of super market customer with their opinion about install a system for the visually impaired person to use in the supermarket. Moreover, there will include the budget of this system. Problem Hong Kong already positively developed the science and technology from the mid-90s, but in 1999, the financial secretary Donald Tsang Yam-Kuen, proposed that Hong Kong must develop high-tech massively, innovates positively the science and technology, except for is facing the bubble economy effect Hong Kong economy, develops an outlet, hoped that uses Hong Kongs superiority, makes Hong Kong to develop Asias scientific research key position. The intrinsic condition first is talented person: Hong Kong would like to create the value, the development science and technology, what most essential is the talented person, Hong Kong as a result of the place and the history cultural context superiority, can attraction large quantities of people with professional skills, Carried out the popularization education positively after for many years, Hong Kong persons educational level is promoting unceasingly. The local each institutions of higher education launchs curriculum, like the mechanical engineering, the electronic engineering, biotechnology and the information science and technology, can train thousands of technical people with professional skills every year for Hong Kong. In office person Shi the aspect, the government encourages the industry to pay great attention to cultivate the talented person, provides the large taxes and levies width to reduce for this reason, and through new technology training plan, to recommend for admission to school the repairing study new science and technology the company to provide the financial support. Special zone government for raise local working population innovation ability, in 99 years report on government administration proposed that in the elementary education stage carrying out comprehensive education, cultivate the student the innovative idea and creation ability. The student besides the study basic academic knowledge and the technological means that can also grasp the thought that the analysis and the communication skill, as well as has the essential skill, will enable can derive the new knowledge in the future and adapt the new thing, drove that the student will enrich himself unceasingly, will make every effort to progress. Infrastructure: As early as in the early 90s, Hong Kong invested a hundred million seven thousands of US dollar establishment Pan-Asian fiber optics system, connected North America, European, Australian and Asian each region, but Hong Kong was also the global first development interaction television and the high speed transmission network area. These infrastructure overcomes the good foundation for Hong Kong development information science and technology. Fund: Develops the new science and technology to need the huge fund, but Hong Kong takes the internatio nal financial center, can buy from all over the world the capital in the port investment. Except for this, the local enterprise recent years also started to invest the high tech industry, if positively developed the telecommunication business with the yellow group, but Hong Kong telecommunication also invested hundred hundred million development Internet service. Government policy: The government recent years started to take the high tech service, developed the high tech for Hong Kong to make the good environment. But in the promotion industrial technology horizontal aspect, the government has established the industry science and technology center and the industry and the technological progress bureau in the 90s, also through industry bureau and productive forces promotion bureau assistance manufacturing industry lift technique level. Scientific research: Hong Kong each universities, colleges and institutes for many years in the scientific research have made many progresses, success ively in the Internet technology, biotechnology, environmental protection and the electronic currency and so on researches and develops the leading whole world variously the technology, but these achievements in scientific research develop the tech industry strongest backing. Intrinsic demand employment question: The technical education also simultaneously brings the people with professional skills surplus question. Because Hong Kong development sciences and technologys step is too slow, the labor market simply cannot buy in the people with professional skills completely, causes question which the unemployment and the capable person flow out. Therefore, develops the high tech to Hong Kong is urgent. Industry reforming: Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea as early as started in the 70s by crowded to transfer gradually the industry by the work the capital, the technology are crowded, and achieved the arrogant person achievement. Reviewed Hong Kong to fall behind many in this aspect, until now still outside moved reduces the cost the way survival. Must seize Asia industrial center again the status, we must develop the high tech, assists industry reforming. Multiplication: Now Hong Kongs economic structure too emphatically trade and financial service industry, both Canada occupies local total output value over 40%, but not the balanced development brings the enormous concealed worry like this for Hong Kong. Develops the high tech to be possible to strengthen the manufacturing industry the proportion, realizes the economical multiplication. External factor Twenty one century by Yu Wei will be knowledge and the technical century, technological progress successful or not plays to a national or the local competitive power the decisive role, now many countries already forestall to start. The history tells us, Hong Kong each time peak is leads by the external factor, therefore, if we cannot seize tighten this opportunity, catches up with develops the high tech last bus, we will certainly to degenerate into twenty one century loser. Feasible pattern. The high techs itself can the independence by an industry form development. Hong Kong has the splendid infrastructure, a knowledge and the foresight capable person, the huge fund and craves in the new thing quality is to develops the high tech industry ideal place. Taiwans Hsinchu science park and USs Silicon Valley, is the high tech industry independent survival, but can lead the economic development the successful example on the other hand, the high tech may also assist Hong Kong each profession lift technique and strengthen the productive forces, and raises the working efficiency, reaches to decreases the cost the benefit. The shipping industry may introduce the computerization management, raises the cargo handling efficiency; The clothing industry may use the computer establishment ready-made clothing design model and raw material database, manages the production and the warehouse; The electronic manufacturing industry may buy the new machine, by formerly made the OEM low-order e lectronic part evolution to independently to design and the production higher order electronic products; The revertex and the toy business may also introduce the computer aided design and produce (CAD/CAM), improvement product innate nature. In summary, Hong Kongs high tech development road to should be the opening independent high tech industry, in addition by vanguard technology transformation existing profession, to technology-intensive direction adjustment. This kind two legs walk the development model, will bring the biggest benefit for Hong Kong. In summary, Hong Kong has develops high tech all essential conditions, but the high tech can also lead the whole economic development, therefore, developed the high tech absolutely is the most suitable road to approach to Hong Kong. We can see that Hong Kong is becoming a high level technology city, all things around us are become digital and high quality. We will think that every single people in Hong Kong can enjoy the benefit of it. How what we cannot see is there still have some group of people in the society that still have life uncomfortable. The visually impaired people in Hong Kong are difficult to shopping in the super market which I think high technology can help them to improve their daily life. Our government have say before that we need to developed the science and technology, so why we dont do it today? The World Health Organization announces, the world approximately has 45,000,000 visually impaired people, the including 90% visually impaired person, are in the developing country. The world regards the barrier patient to reach 1.35 hundred million people, visually impaired persons world, has analogized has been the dark world. In the dark world, how should fit to the fact world? How to survive? This is the discerning person is unable to realize. since 1960, European and American various countries have started to impel to let of physical disabilities the positively and other motion barrier can like the common normal person use each kind of building, the facility, the activity venue as well as the transportation vehicle and so on. This kind the movement which causes the disabled persons to pass unimpeded, is called the non-barrier movement Importance of the Barrier-free design. Enhances regards bonds the public figure to live the innate nature an important condition is penetrates the improvement public place the channel facility, enables them to walk independently, has a greater degree-of-freedom to participate in the community moving, integrates the society easily and establishes the society which together with the disabled people more harmonious altogether melts. Need of for the coordination social development, promotes the Barrier-free design facility unceasingly, the promotion regards bonds opportunity of the public figure equality participation social activity, lets them share in the information, transportation, path, building and other aspects similarly with the average person the public utility, realizes the government to propose that the society altogether melts without the barrier idea. Most of the visually impaired person may have problem for their daily life, such as choose the product and go to pay the money. We can see there are lots of different facilities to help them solve the daily life problem. For example, the tactile map the tactile guide path and the audio description, which I think is useful tools. But we cannot find those useful facilities in the supermarket. What I can do is create a supermarket system for the visually impaired person to use, to make them feel more convenient during shopping in the supermarket. A system for guiding the visually impaired person including the watch with receive RFID system function and the earphones is a sound generator, to guide the visually impaired person what goods they are watching for and how much is the prices. In 22nd century, people will use the entire high technique product to let their life become convenient, so as the visually impaired person. We can expect shopping system will become very useful for them in the future. Aim My aim is to provide a high technique system to let the visually impaired person use in the supermarket. They can simply wear a watch which with receive RFID system function and the earphones to explore the bar code and they just listen to the voice, then they will know what kinds of food that they are searching for. Visually impaired persons as society in special groups, needs the society to give them more concerns and the attendance, enables them a better independent life. How to walk safely with the purchase life needs is the visually impaired person the most major problem of their lives, According to the past visually impaired product advantages and disadvantages and the visually impaired person personal request and need, I has designed a set of more perfect supermarket visually impaired person guidance system. On the super market, I can sees the visually impaired is hard to decide where should they go and about the product information. They always need to ask for help and that I thing will waste their time very much; I fell so uncomfortable with their situation. If there has set of functions perfectly to lead the visually impaired system to have well. Therefore, I start to collect the material, bustles about for my system. After the material collection, I found that Hong Kong has 120,000 visually impaired people, includes the hemianopia. The visually impaired person always does the things for independence in their life, they made the basic independence depending on their strength, but there still have the things that they cannot do and aspect. After understanding partial visually impaired people, I understanding to the visually impaired person in the journey and the life difficulty, I has obtained them certain subject matters which faces in the daily life: They live in a dark world, walked cannot find the concrete position and they are hard to find out the things that they want. Thats why I want to provide the super market system for them to use. To achieve the aims, I will focus on the relationship between shopping system and the coding system which supermarket provide .The following are some hypotheses that I would like to investigate in this research. H1 Most of visually impaired person are not easy to shopping in the supermarket. H2 Most of the visually impaired person need the shopping system. H3 shopping system for the visually impaired person is work and gain profit. H4 Provide the high quality and good user interface shopping system instrument. H1, H2 and H3 investigate the socio-economic (marco) aspects of shopping system. In order to research H1, I will research the visually impaired person in Hong Kong and other country such as US, China.etc . H2 Reveals most of the visually impaired person need a tools to help them to shopping themselves. H3 I need to sure that this system can get the profit because that the main objective that a business plan come from. H4 Provide the high quality and f good user interface shopping system instrument to make sure that visually impaired person people can enjoy their shopping, they can get a joyful lifestyle. Background PARKnSHOP As my target is install the system for visually impaired person to use in PARKnSHOP. I will give a short descript for PARKnSHOP first, they are the local supermarket store, they are one of the largest supermarket in Hong Kong. They aim to give customers the highest quality product and outstanding value for money, they also provide many fresh foods for customers to choose, and they will give the most reasonable price of the product to the customers. PARKnSHOP was start at 1973 by Hutchison Whampoa, they have more than 200 stores already over Hong Kong and Macau these two places, which is a big chain with 9000 employees and achieve themselves to their commitment with innovation and provide good quality of service to the customers. They are a member of Watsons from Hutchison Whampoa Limited. The famous service of PARKnSHOP is the Fresh Check and Price Watch two programmes. Fresh Check promise that their will give the most good levels of food safety to their customers and it is at the be st value in town. Price Watch will set the price near standard of Hong Kong retailing and similar shops setting price. If the customers find that their Price Watch products price is higher than others store that they will give back the gift to customers which make the customers feel more confident. To show their responsibility of the product price setting. PARKnSHOPs have more than 50 Superstores in Hong Kong. They start the first Superstore in Hong Kong in 1996. Superstore concept has transformed the mind of Hong Kong people think about the supermarket shopping store. They give a new concept of supermarket for the customer that they are not like the traditional supermarket store. Giving their customers the most lots of selection with their store items in Hong Kong, provide lots of food such as fish, vegetables, sushi, snack and the rice. They also provide all the life necessary product, for example blanket, dish and the bowl. The larger PARKnSHOPs superstores will provide clothes, bed, imported cosmetics, and bath accessories, a DIY section, lots of general household products to the customers.They also have the first PARKnSHOP Megastore start in 2002, it with a floor space of 6 700 metre square which is a very big area in Hong Kong. Visually impaired person According to the Social data collected via the General Household Survey in 2008. There are currently 122, 600 legally visually impaired person in Hong Kong. Visually impaired person is a persons whos with eyes seeing difficulty and those who had been appraise as being visually impaired person, sometimes visually impaired person may just have the low vision under the professional checks or define they will have a long-term seeing difficulty with one eye or both eyes whether they are with or without wearing any correcting glasses lenses. They living in the Hong Kong who face daily obstacles with routine tasks, especially in regards to their experiences within supermarkets and stores. Developing assistive technologies and handheld devices allows for the possibility of increasing independence for those who have low vision. Currently, many grocery stores treat those that are visually impaired person as high cost customers, and dramatically undersell to this market, ignore to take their needs into consideration. The use of computational vision can be advantageous in helping these visually impaired person customers, as restrictions such as the limited ability of guide dogs, frequently changing store layouts, and existing resources do not allow for a completely independent shopping experience. Using technologies such as object recognition, sign reading, and text-to-speech notification could allow for a greater autonomous solution to the growing problem. Total visually impaired is visual light sense and complete lack of form; it is clinically recorded as no light sense. Visually impaired is frequently used to describe severe visual impaired with surplus mision. Those kind of described is show that the visually impaired person having only light sense or have no more sight than the ability than they can do to tell light from dark area or the general direction that they are of a light source. To decide which people need the special assistance is because of their visual disabilities, governmental guide handbook for define the visually impaired person. In most of country, legal visually impaired person is defined as they can see 20/200 or less far with the better eye and the best correction possible. That means that a legally visually impaired individual would have to stand 20 feet from an object to see it with best correction possible and also the same degree of clear as a normally sighted person could from 200 feet. In many areas, people with average acuity of less than 20 degrees are also classified as being legally visually impaired. About ten percent of those deemed legally visually impaired, by any measure, have no vision. The rest have some vision, from light sense to relatively good acuity. The ten revision of the World Health Organization International Statistical Classification of Diseases,have say that low visionis defined as visual sense of less than 6/18, but e qual to or better than 3/60, or corresponding visual field loss to less than 20 degrees, in the better eye with best possible correction. Visually impairednessis defined as visual acuity of less than 3/60, or corresponding visual field loss to less than 10 degrees, in the better eye with best possible correction. Tactile graphicsare the images use to raise outward to let the visually impaired person can feel them and know about the infoemations. They always use to provide the non-textual information such as maps, graphs, paintings and also the diagrams. The graphics can give the verbal description, sounds for the visually impaired person to read it in their mind and remember it. RFID RFID already the dispersion quietly on our life, very common to saw or heard this noun, Strange did not know that behind it the operation principle and the technology. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Chinese may be called the wireless radio frequency recognition system. Usually is the system which is composed of sensor (Reader) and RFID label (Tag), its operations principle uses the sensor launch radio wave, touches in the induction scope the RFID label, and produces the electric current because of the electromagnetic induction, supplies on the RFID labels chip to operate and to send out the electromagnetic wave response sensor. Actuates the energy origin difference, the RFID label to be possible to divide into the driving type and the passive form two kinds: The passive form label itself does not have batterys installment, needs the electric current to depend entirely on the sensor the radio wave electromagnetic induction production, therefore only will then be receiving the signal which the sensor will send out only then the passive response sensor; But the driving-type label built-in has the battery, may transmit the signal to supply the sensor read on own initiative, the signal transmission scope relative to be also broader than the passive form. Actually RFID already has in our daily life environment, will drive on the highway not to need to stop the vehicle to give ETC which the coupon ticket will use the prepaid card, will go 7-11 to buy a drink to use VISA WAVE the credit card, on the beloved pet body will implant the pet chip, in the store or the library security chip, will get in the home to open MiFare which the front door entrance guard will use the chip card, these will be the RFID practical applications. The RFID characteristic especially qualify uses for to take the person or goods on circuit control tracing and the recognition. Therefore RFID widespread application in entrance guard control, flow control as well as aspects and so on electronic ticket. In addition RFID has formulated the global unified ISO standard, simultaneously favors the opportunity which RFID brings, had many manufacturer investment related industry research and development, in recent years in domestic and foreign promotes many and the RFID re lated application for example: The global biggest chain-like circuit discusses Wal-Mart to request its first 100 big upstream supplier installs the RFID label on the goods packing or the stack board, with the aim of tracing the goods on supply chain immediate information, may reduce the cost and enhance the product information the transparency; The domestic Yulong automobile the RFID technology application in the car care service flow control, the vehicle owner may grasp clearly in the restroom loves the vehicle immediate processing situation and the progress; Three always use in RFID patients recognition, avoids giving the medicine to be wrong, the large enhancement prepares the medicine with to give the medicine the accuracy. In electronic ticket application aspect, because the RFID label built-in memory may deposit the related recognition material, in addition encrypts the mechanism then records the ticket tickets content security in the electronic chip, therefore may widely apply in the jot expends, in order to avoid eliminates pays in cash gives change or the credit card signature and so on is troublesome. Like 2006 FIFA World Cup Soccer the Organizing unit and Phillips Corporation cooperates, discards the traditional admission ticket, changes picks the RFID chip card, this act, besides enables the fan to confirm the admission fast, this RFID electron admission ticket may also use for to pay in the field expenses and so on other like parking, dining; The MiFare chip but in domestic, in the majority of Taibei manpower has the long travel card which uses is also one kind of RFID card. Besides may use for to build DORTS, the public vehicle, the cat cable and pays the parking fee, in the technology should be possible to use in other lives the jot expense. Limited to the domestic financial law, the long travel card can only use in the transportation enterprise, has not been able to carry on the service which the jot expends; But last year the domestic four banks and the Taibei Wisdom Card Ticket Company signed a treaty the release long travel jointly card, and unified VISA which the VISA International organization promoted the WAVE function, enabled the cardholder besides to be possible to travel by the populace transportation system, might also use in facilitating the ultra business to expend, brings more conveniences the services. Does obeisance bestowing of the technical, RFID lets the life be more convenient, be safer, as soon as the imagination gets down the supermarket to buy a vehicles commodity, as soon as so long as the shopping cart passes through the sensor shopping detailed list, the bill produces immediately, does not need to line up and so on sales clerks 11 to inspect a nd verify paying up now likely; Also one gets in the home, all around the temperature, the light and the electrical appliances turn the hypothesis which immediately you like, west does not need to look looks for the remote control and the switch; When familys refrigerator food drink not enough, the automatic under order form dwelling will match the government office, will not need to turn on the refrigerator to discover that most liked being possible not to have happily, this will really be the convenient future, moreover this already was not in the future far. RFID Receiver The receiver of RFID is provide by Maxells, their new RFID system is comprised of an advanced RFID reader and RFID chip that is customized for individual applications. It allows information to be wirelessly transferred from a tag to a reader to enhance the ability of companies to track individual items. Manufacturer Welcat Product Outlook Corresponding specification ISO/IEC15693 frequency band 13.56MHz Maximum communication distance 50 Kilometer Available RFID 1-CODE, my-d, Infineon technologies, Tag-it Outputs/into the interface RS232C Slaving voltage +3.3V~ +5V Consumption electric power 750 mW (when connect) Critical review of relevant literature Description of the system In the system, there include four main products Tactile Supermarket Layout Map, server, RFID system and also the watch for the visually impaired person to use. The first one Tactile Supermarket Layout Map is installed at the supermarket main entrance. That can make the user easy to find it out as they come to the supermarket and use the map without position problem. Tactile map is important tool to finding help for people with visual impaired. To use a map more effectively, it is essential to know ones own position on the map. For a person with visual impaired this usually means identifying a location of distinctive landmarks in the environment, if this location is located on the map it will provide the basis information for making a decision about their own position. Moreover, the map will provide the date for the visual impaired person such as the supermarket instantaneously best prices choose and also the new arrival product. They can search the product basic on the type or the b rand name of the product, which will provide all the Chinese or English two languages for user choose to make it more use effectively. Maybe they will not know about how to use the map, so the map will also provide a HELP function which the staff will come immediately and solve he/shes problem. The system will also provide the audible device allow the speech function which just likes a mobile phone. Every supermarket will have their own system to provide the cost and information of the product. Nowadays, they will use the traditional method to show the cost to the customers, they show the price and the name of the product on the paper then press it in front of the product. I can see a few times that the customers complain with the system price is not match with the show price. That happen will make the customer feel angry and inconvenient. Some time they will choose another product to buy, but in the worse case, they will get complain with the supermarket fraud with their trust. In the future, we should use the LCD monitor to display the price and the product information which will make the process of change the price make more convenient and reduce the use of paper. In the future, supermarket will use the RFID which is the use of an object applied to or incorporated into a product for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader. There will have a server to save all of the date for price and information of the product, no need the super storage device, just simplify a computer can make it happen. The date will send to the Tactile Supermarket Layout Map to provide the date of the product. Visually impaired person use the watch, inside the watch their have the receive RFID receiver to receives the date of RFID and they can listen to the price and the information such as expire day, nutrition information and the brand name of the product with their earphone. The RFID plan may body making to order He said that the RFID product divides into the initiative radio frequency and the passive radio frequency two broad heading ? initiative radio frequencies is the label built-in battery, sends out the electric wave to arrive at the microreader on own initiative, lets the sensor read material. The passive radio frequency is in the label does not have the battery, instead sends out the electric wave by the microreader, shoots on the label to bounce the reclamation information. Because the passive radio frequencys label compares the thin body, therefore applies generally at the retail trade, for example this companys label uses in the jewelry profession. As soon as so long as the customer takes up the jewelry, the staff member then available microreader read pastes on jewelrys label, immediately tells the product material and the selling price the customer. He pointed out that the passive radio frequency label price may be very cheap, for example a time has bought 5000, each selling price may lower to 0.5 Yuan. Besides jewelry industry, passive radio frequency label also widespread applicatio